Cham Muslim refugees reach America

Cham Muslims (an ethnic group rooted in Cambodia and Vietnam, targeted by the Khmer Rouge) begin arriving as refugees, reaching Seattle in 1978 and settling in Southern California through resettlement sponsorships.

Seattle's Cham Refugees Community (founded 1982) and Santa Ana's Islamic Center (opened 2017, grown from fifteen refugee families' apartment prayer space) anchor the communities today. The Santa Ana mosque, led by Cambodian refugees, has also become a home for Latino Muslim converts.